Spam... what is it? It's any email sent without
permission. It's posting to a message board with the full intent to
advertise... without permission. It's placing an ad inside an ezine
accused of spam, believe it or not!

It's the new virus that is affecting responsible webmasters and
publishers.

ISP's and List Servers have a policy against Spam. They have a nice
little panic button that people can push and scream, "I've been
SPAMMED!" The results can be anything from a little warning, to losing
your ISP or OPT-IN list overnight.

But
who's really getting the blame? Is it the irresponsible publishers who
buy lists from the black market? Is it the people who lurk about the
Internet going from website to website collecting the mails and then
sending out their spam messages?

No, it's not! These days it's not those sneaky spammers. It's the good
reputable and responsible people who are standing in amidst an angry
mob shivering and crying out, "What did we do??? They asked to
subscribe!!...I have PROOF!"

But does anyone listen? Has this new virus made the ISP and List
servers blind? Is this virus so strong that soon the world will be
screaming "Spam! Spam!" like the little chicken that claimed the Sky
was falling down?

This new form of chaos has become the new plaything for the hackers and
people that created the email virus. The horrible fact is, anyone can
yell spam! No skill required.

Reputable webmasters and ezine publishers take great care in building
their own opt-in lists. Sometimes the way to get on a list is by
accepting a special offer. Get something free for joining a list. It's
simple and it's honest. It's how we, the ezine publishers, are able to
build our OPT-IN lists. Once the subscriber joins, it's up to the
publisher to keep them interested.

What happens if you join a list and later decide it's not for you? Are
you forever captured in the grip of these ezine and newsletter
publishers? Is there a way to cancel???

Of course, there is. Any responsible list owner will have the
unsubscribe instructions clearly posted at the top or bottom of their
list. Is that enough?

Apparently not. The Spam virus seems to have produced the idea that you
are guilty until proven innocent. The question is this: Is anyone
working on the antidote?

Let's examine recent factual events:

The virus starts with its evil host, the one who Yells Spam! Spam!
unjustly, because they either forgot they had opted into the list, or
worse, they simply wanted the pleasure of spreading this new virus.

What happens next is this. The ISP host cancels your account. Guilty
without a trial. The list service deletes your entire list. Guilty
without a trial.

Personally, I have extremely loyal subscribers. My email reads like fan
mail and I can't imagine the day when I would wake up and not be able
to deliver my latest issue. What would my readers think? How would I
tell them what happened? More importantly...

Why do these services have the right to stamp a Guilty verdict on us
without hearing both sides?

Many of the list owners and others have had proof that the spam claim
was false. However, the Spam virus is so strong that even when
providing the antidote, proof the claim was false, the ISP and list
services are not listening. Whoops, sorry, we deleted your list and
never even considered you might be innocent.

How deep and how far will this virus spread? The virus has mutated. You
can now reap the side effects of the Spam virus if you place an ad in
an ezine or newsletter that has been accused of spam!

Where will this stop? What's the answer? Where's the antidote?? Who
will protect the innocent from this new virus? How many CD's have you
received in your mailbox asking you to join this or that ISP? Isn't
this Spam??? Junk mail is spam. It's only a matter of time before the
cyber-virus becomes the next drug of choice for hackers and crackers.

By Chrisi Darrington
Helping new webmasters understand how to profit online.
Subscribe to Netwoozy, netwoozy-subscribe@topica.com
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Edited by Patty Lee:editor@herideas.com